Tire building



ct. 27, 1925. v T. MiDG1 EY NRE UIIJDING 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

FiledApril v, 1921 NVENTOR Mam/Yay@ ATTORNE T. MIDGLEY TIRE BUILDING s sheds-sheet 2 Filed Apri; v, 1921 INVENTOR Wim; fw@

ATTORNE Oct. 27, 1925.

T. MmGLE-Y 'TIRE BUILDING' 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April '7 1921 ATTOR Oct. 27, 1925. 1,558,904

T. MnDGgEY TIRE BUILDINQY Filed April '7. 1921 5 sheets-sheet 4 {NVENTOR ou. 27,1925. y 1,558,904

T. MIDGLEY TIRE BUILDING Filed April `7. 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR 77mm; Eiga/g ATToRNE Patented Oct. 27, .1925'.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.l

THOMAS MIDGLEY, OF HAMI'DEN, MASSACHUSETTS, 'ASSIGNOR TO THE FISK RUBBER I COMPANY, 0F CHICOPEE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHU- SETTS.

TIRE BUILDING.

Application filed April 7,

To all y'wi/011i it may concern.'

Be it known that I, THOMAS MiDGLEr, a citizen of the United States! of America, residing` at Hampden, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented Certain new and useful Improvements in Tire Building, of which the following is a specification.

,My invention relates to the building of the. outer tire casings of pneumatic tires, particularly to` improvements in methods and machines by which Such casingsare constructed..

Ilt has for its object the-pi'ovisioii of a method .and a machine by which casin'gs maybe constructed on cores much more effectively than with prior methods and apparatus; which will permit o'f a more effective .division of tire building operations between machines, thereby achieving the numerous advantages attendant upon manufacturing operations in which individual steps of a process are separated and one'operator or machine performs one step only; and which will improve the method and apparatus, as well as the product resulting' therefrom, in many other aspects which will be apparent from the' following description.

In building a tire casingl according lo my invention l utilize the carcass building inavterial inthe form of rubberized fabric,

which term l employ to include square woven fabric, fabric in which warp cords ,furnish the strength and widelyspaced weft f threads merely Serve to hold the warp iii 4place during` the iubberizing oi'ieration, and .so-called cord fabric which' consists in a warp of cords embedded in a web of rubber with no weft al all. l apply this fabric to the. core so ascto cause the sides or shirts of the fabric toextend substantially in the plane of the, core so that. they are in position lo be conformed to -the sides of the core in the manner to be described. The preferable way of applyinpthe fabric in this condition is by forming,r it into an endless band, usually of two plies if cord fabric is used, stretchinglhe band from a ci `uinference substantially 4that of the. bast i" the core to a circonifere-nee Xgreater thanthat of the core at' its crest, placingl the expanded band about the circumference of the core, and allowingl it to'contract upon the core anddown the sides thereof due to tlieelasticity inherent.

1921. Serial No. 459,330.

` in the rubber. With the fabric. so mountedv upon the core the next operation is to Shape it to the undercut Sides of the core. This l I preferably do by axially applied pressure, preferably exerted through successively acting annular members?, When tlioseplies of carcass material which are disposed under the bead are applied,.and preferably in conjunction with that operation, the beads may be applied. Successivev plies of material may be added and shaped until the complete casing is formed, my invention also contemplating applying the covering materials, by which l refer to the tread and sidewalls, and, if desired, the chafingstrips which cover the beads, in a similar manner to th'e carcass plies.

These steps. as well as the preferred appa'-` ratus by which the Shaping operations are performed, will appear more clearly from a consideration of the.drawings, in which:

Fig'. 1 is a vieu7 of a band of'fabric. prior to being' expanded over the core; Fig'. 2 is a view of the core with the fabric applied.

Fig. 2l illustrates the. first stage in the operation of applying' the under-bead plies and figures;

Fig; 15 is a detail top plan thereof; Fig. 16. is a section on line 16-16 ofl Fig. 14;

Figs. 17, 1S and 19 lare diagrammatic views showing how the core holding hook is moved out'of operation prior to the fabricshaping operation;

Fi 20 is a detail of the operative conneevtions for the annular pressing members;

Fig. and

Fig. 22 ,is a. development of a cam. Before ltaking up in moredetail my iinv21 iS a. transverse section thereof;

Aproved method oftire building a machine l mi' i Vferred embodiment of m shaft may be driven as through a worm.

and Wheel 32 from a suitable source of power, preferably through a clutch mechanism 33 of the type which, when the con-- trol lever 34 is actuated, will permit the mechanism to run through one complete cycle and will then cause it to stop. Such clutches are old, and their'constuction need not be further described. I

.Cores 35 are supplied to the machine in any desired or convenient way. In the pr@ invention, however, I contemplate supp ying the cores on hooks 36 connected by swivels 37 `to carriages 38 running on a track 39, and provide mechanism which will now be described for supporting the core and tem: porarily removing the hook from a position in which it would interfere with the operation of the devices for shaping `the fabric to thesides of the core, lvl/hen the core is delivered to the machine it is stopped spproximately in position either by hand or automatically, as by providing track 39 with a depression in which carriage 38 will lodge, and is then' grasped by rollers, 40, 41, 42 and 43, each of these-having concave surfaces conforming to the outside/'ofthe core. Rolls and 41 are each rotatably mounted on an arm 44 pivoted at 45 to a bracket 46 on frame 28. An .ear 471011 each I"arm 44 contacts with a ledge 48 on the bracket 46 to limit the downward movementj of the rolls, an adjustable stop .49 on' ledge 48 limiting the upward movement. The rolls are moved downward by their own weight and upward by contact with the core, which is raised upwardly to free. its hook by rolls 42, and 48. These latter rolls are rotatably mounted on a slide 5l), which is provided with an aperture 51 enabling it to clearthe shaft 29, and which runs on bearings 52 suitably secured in frame 28. A canrroll on the slide tits in a caml groove 54 in one face of cam 3() previously mentioned. ln order to adjust accurately the position of the slide 50, cam roll 53 is preferably nmunted on au arm 55 pivoted at 5G' to' the slidel and having at its other end a hole ,67

through which passes a threaded rod 58' secured to a bracket 59 on rthe slide. By this means the arm 55 can be rotated on its pivot 56 and held by nuts 60 on the rod in.

lits adjusted position in order to locate ac-` curately the .vertical posit-ion of the cam roll with respect to slide 50 and hence the position into which the core 35 is raised by the rolls 42 and 43.

After the core has been 'raised by mechanism described above from the full llever 76 opposite that against ment 75 contacts is forked as at 80 to rethe 61, each slidably mounted on a semi-circularI dove-tail guide 62 on slides 63` and 64 respectively. Slide 64 is mountedl for reciprocation in guides 65 carried' bythe'- frame of the machine, and is provided with a rack 66 meshing Awith a pinion 67 on a short shaft 68gdriven through bevel gears 69l from a vertical shaft 70. This latter shaft receives oscillatory rotation through bevel gears 71 from a shaft 72 carrying an arm 73 o which.

.is pivoteda cam roll 74 running ina cam groove on the cylindrical surface of cam 3l. This cam, acting through the intermdiate mechanism described, serves to move slide 64 toward and away from the center of the machine, whereby` clamp 61 vis caused toA move into and out of clamping' position.

Clamp member 60 is movedv into and out of clamping position coincidentallywith clamp member 61 by mechanism operated by the motion of slide 64. This slide carries an abutment 75 which, when the slide'is moved towards the center of the'maehine.

impinges against a lever 76 plvoted at 77v to a bracket 78 secured to the guides 7 9 in which slide 63 reciprocates. The. end of which abutceive a pin 81 mounted on slide 63. Slide 63. is normally held in its retracted or-nonclamping position by a spring 82 secured at one end to the slide. .and at the other to a stationary part ot the machine, but as slide 64 is moved towards clampingposition Ithe lever 76 acts through nin 81 to move slide 63 into clamping position against the tension of the spring.

Clamps 60 and 61 have mating ciampving Surfaces which are shaped to conform to the swivel portion ot the core supportin'g hook', and are adapted for rotation on their dove-tail guides 62 in order to swing the hook, when the latter is freed by the raising of the core, from its position trans-Iv verse to the plane of' the core (Figs. 14,V 16

and 17), to a position substantially parallel to the plane of thecore (Figs. 18 and 19).`

For this purpose clamping member 61 is provided with gear teeth 85 which mesh with a segmental gear 86 on a Shaft 87.:

journaled in slide 64 and connected by gearing 88 with a horizontal shaft 89. This shaft is'splined or keyed as at 90 and passes member 60` Will be rotated so as to turn the' hook 36 substantially 909 on its swivel, or from the position of Fig. v17 to that of Fig. 18. Shaft 87 Which carries the 'segmental gear 86 also carries an arm 10() serving tol move the hook from the full to the dotted line position of Fig. 19 during the latter part of the rotating movement of clampin members.

he general operation of the core hand-A ling part of the machine is as follows; A core carried by a hook 36 is brought intoplace ready to be grasped by the positioning rolls, and the s Wivel of the hook is seized by clamping members and 61. Rolls 42 and 43 are then caused to rise,

y'lifting the core against' rolls 40 and 4 1 so that the core is held in a central position Vfor operation upon by the fabric shaping 30. core may shift the hook from thefull to the mechanism. The vertical motion of the dottedline' position of Fig. 17, depending upon the shape of the hook. As the core-is grasped by its positioningrolls the clamp- .members 60 and 61 are rotated, swinging'the hook from the dotted line position :of Fig. 17 tothe position shown in Fig. 18

land in full Ylines in Fig. 19. As or even before this motion is completed arm 100 contacts with the hookand swings it to the 4dotted line position of Fig. 19 thus leaving the sides of the core i're for the operation of the fabric shaping mechanism.

l The shaping mechanism may be varied in certainA particulars, as will be pointed out, depending on what elements of the tire are -to be shaped. The operating mechanism is A i' substantially similar in all cases, and for convenience that arrangement of parts will be described which is suitable for applying the' plies of fabric which pass over thebead. The shaping devices themselves comprise a, plurality of concentric slides or rings 110,

111, 112 and 113, thc number of )vliicl-i may vary depending upon the operation to bc l. performed, and the shape and function of which-will be described later. `Two opposed vSets, of these rings are used inorder to tlie.co1e,one .set being mounted in a ,guiding" casingt114'and theother in a guiding'y casing 1151 Journaled in suitable bearings 116 and 117 in the ffaine, and'located'respectively in casingsy 114 and 1,15 are shafts 1148and 1,19., each carrying on its exteriorl end a sprocket whereby it may be connected` for oscillatory rotation by chains 120 and 121 with sprockets on a shaft 122, suitably vjournaled in theinain frame as at 123. Upon shaft' 122 is fixed a pinion 12,4 meshing with a-gear 125 upon a stub shaft 126. Also mounted on this stub shaft for rota- .tion with gear 125 is a pinion 127 meshing equivalent train of mechanism Ishafts 118 and 119 are given an intern'iittent oscillation from the rotating main shaft 29.

Shafts 118 and 119 carry cani drums 135 and 136 respectively a development of the surface of one of these being shown in Fig. 22. The operation of both cams being sim- "ilar, a description of but one' will be given,

reference being had to Figs. 20, 21 and 22. The surface of the drum is provided with a plurality of sets of cani grooves, three as.

shown in Fig. 21, each set comprising four independent grooves, 137, 13S, 139 and 14() ,in the ease shown. Cani rollers 141, 142, 1li-3 and 144 run iii grooves 137, 138, 139 and 14() respectively, and are pivoted on slides or rings 110, v111, 112 and 113 respectively by blocks 145, 146, 147 and 148. rlliese .blocks run in axial guiding grooves 149,

150, 151 and 152 in casing 115. Each block is provided with a' detachable clamping p ortion 153 secured to the main portion ol the block as by screws 154, and serving to clamp the block firmly to a portion 155 of the slide, the slide being suitably cutaway around this portion to periuit of the application el' the clamp. Each block is secured to onev of the slides, the other slides being cul. away as at 156 to permit each slide to reciprocate according to4 the motion iniparted to 'it by its cani grooves without interfering with the operation of the other slides. The use of a plurality of sets of cani groove-sis desirable in order to avoid an unbalanced application 'of force to the rings withfconsequent liability' of binding.

After the fab-ric shapingmechanism has `completed its operation the hook- 3() is lllil lilfi lll) swinging the hook into inoperative position.

Rolls 42 and 43 are then caused to descend,

thus repositioning the core in place upon the hook. During part of this lowering of the core rolls 40 and 41 follow ii down by gravity, their ianged sides furnishing lateralsupport for the core. A

Theoperation of the shaping mechanism will now be described with relation .to the several operations which are to be performed. In carrying out my method of tire building, and in using the machine described above, I prefer to .follow the general plan outlined below. According to this preferred plan a plurality of machines are provided similar tothat above described but with slight differences in the shape and operation of the shaping slides or cylinders, as will be described. 'Iliese machines are preferably arranged in'a ser-ies connected for successive operation on each core by a track shown at 39 in the drawing. Suitably located for action prior to each of these machines are devices which will plaee`upon the tire-building core successive layers of tirebuilding material so that the side portions of the layers Will extend down the sides of thecore, sulciently approximating a position in the plane of the core so that the shaping mechanism can act upon it. Such devices are not in themselves a part of my present invention and need not be specilically described, particularly as in the broader aspects of my invention the layers of fabric might be applied to the cores manually.

r4.A suitable apparatusand method for this purpose are described in my Patent No. 1,455,260, dated May 15, 1923.

Taking now the several steps ofbuilding a tire according to the preferred form of-my invention I provide a sheet of rubberized fabric a, preferably in the form of an endless band (Fig. 1) composed of two plies and of a circumference substantially that of the base. of the core. This 'fabric is then ex'- panded over a core 35, the stretch given in this expansion producing a tension in the rubber with which the fabric is associated sufficient to cause the sides of the band to contract to substantially the position shown in Fig. 2. This layer of fabric extends down the sides of the core substantially parallel tothe plane thereof, in which po.

sition it is ready for the shaping operation,

illustrated in successive. stages in I `igs.3,l

4 and '5. In Figs. 3' and 4, the slides lll and 112 have been shown as iii the form of mechanism described above, these two slides operating together and without varying their relative ,positions in performing the operations shown in Figs. y3, 4 and 5 of shaping to the core ythe under-bead plies and positioning the beadVfilllei-s. In Fig. 5 I have shownjslides 111'andf112 as united into a single slide 211, which is the preferable construction. in this case, the slide operating mechanism being easily adapted for the operation of three slides instead of four.

I' Slides 111 and.112,or 211, serve to position a bead filler b against the fabric and to assist in the shaping of the fabric, and accordingly the inner portion of `the slide is shaped to conform to the outer contour of the bead filler.

Following now the successive stages of this first operation, starting with the fabric applied about the core' with the side perfA tions extending inwardly substantially parallel to the plane of the core, the opposed slides 113 first move against the core withl a motion axial With respect tothe core, and press the upper portions of the'sides of the portions of the slides being suitably shaped for this purpose as shown.v Slides 110, nextj fabric against the vcore (Fig. 3)', the'inner' y move against the core, forcing Lthe edges of the fabric against the core (Fig. 4). Slides u 111 and 112, or. 211, then move to place the that slides form supportsforthe inner "i circumferences hof the annular bead fillers and furnish a guide serving to locate the fili'- ers with accuracy against the fabric. This completes the' under-bead and ,bead'posif' tioning operations. 'Ifdesired the 's'ides- 111 and 112, or 211, mayact before slide/S110 so that the several slides will come into action successively from the outer to the innerpor! tion of the fabric, as in the'operation''of`v` l i shaping the over-bead plies to be described" below, but the construction first describedI .is generally preferable as it avoids :my-'difu iiculty due to the bead filler sticking tofabric which'has not reached its p-roperfp'ou sition adjacent the core.` It will be seen from the abovel that each annular portion .of the fabric which is pressed into con formation With the coreis applied' theretof in successive annular merements'by circnmi ferentially simultaneous pressure. l

The core with the under-bead fabric `and axially directed the beads s o applied is removed on its hook-i" from the shaping machine and a second layer of fabric clapplied over it in such a" manner as to causethe sides of the fabric1 layer to extend 'down the sides of .thecore iii position for the operation of the over-s.,

bead shaping` mechanism,y as by stretching an endless bandof the material over the core as described above. this second layer is preferably performedby The applic-ation` of w mechanism located along a continuation of track39, the core being handled atthat pointv v by suitable mechanism which in its specific form constitutes no part of my present y1nvention. The core with the fabric so inounte ed thereon is carried, preferably alon a con A tinuation of track 39, to a second mec anism similarl in its general operation to that referred to in'y connection with-the under-bead f operation, The successive' `stages of the' operation of this second shaping mechanism..

upon the core, to shape and press inte coin.

lit)

tacty with the previouslylaid fabric the upper portions of the inwardly projecting sides of the fabric. Slides 112 then move together to press the second layer ot' fabric .above the bead iller (Fig. 7), slides 111 press it around the point of the, filler (Fig. 8) and slides 11()- press it under thel filler (Fig. 9). Incase cach layer of fabric has consisted of two plies. as is preferable, and a fourply casing' is to be constructed, thc building up of the carcass portion of the casing is now completed.

It now remains to complete the building up of thercasinglby the addition of the coveringr rubber. This operation is illustrated in Figs ..-10, 11. 12 and 13, and is carried on in general in much the same way as the previously 'deseril'i'ed operations. After the core is replaced on its hook and removed from the over-bead shaping machine the coveringrubber is applied, preferably by mechanism situated adjacent a continuation of track 39. The covering' rubber comprises a tread portion al and sidewalls e, which in this case are applied to the carcass (indicated at f) so asyto cause the sidewalls to extend 'down the sides of the core substantially parallel to the plane thereof7 as in the case of the fabric used for constructingY the carcass. Preferably`r and as shown. chang strips f/, usually of square. Woven, bias-cut, rubberized fabric. are attached to the sidetvalls and are applied and shaped at the same time. ,lf desired, however, these strips may be omitted or applied later by hand or by other devices. After the composite covering band is thus applied over vthe carcass the' core With the casing' elements niounted thereon. is carried into position in a shaping' mechanism substantially like that described above. and having a plurality of slides '110,

.. (in. ne and ini Shared mmh s "he SMM used in applying the over-bead plies of the carcass. In shapingr the coveringA material the sidewall is pressed. ae'ainstthe carcass by slides 113 andlll, acting; successively as shown in Figs. ltland 11. lf the chahnjc,Y strip isto be applied, slides 111 and 110 act successively as shown in Figs. 12 and 13. to shape it around the bead portion of the earcass. ln case the chating' strip is not to bc applied by this mccl'ianisni slides 1 l 1 and 1 10 maybe omitted. the shaping mechanism for the covering rubber in that event comprising but; two Slides.

. The core handling apparatus adapted for use in connection with other forms ot fabric building operations if desired.. For example, the lifting and guiding rolls may rotatably support the core so that it may be operated upon by the usual type of spinning or lstitchingA rolls. 'In this case the core could be rotated bv a friction roll contacting with its surface, and it would not be necessary to swing the hook completely ont. of the without capable of distortion and shapingr so that they may conform-to the core. llf these niaterials be stretched upon the core in such a manner that they shrink down its sides they can -be` at once shaped and caused to adhere to cach other by a simple pressure exerted axially of the core.

lVhile in describing my invention l have illustrated it inconnection with tire casing's of the clincher type, it will be understood that it is also applicable to tires of other types such as .straight side casinos. The number of shaping slides used, and the mestieliv, duc to the uncured rubber ofv cllianical structure to which I have referred in describing' my invention. may bevaricd departing from my invention, which will now be pointed out, in its broader as Well as its more specific aspects, in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim:

1. lIn the building of a tii'c casing, stretching`r upon an annular former with undercut` sides an endless band of tire building material of an initial circumference substantially that of the baseof the former, whereby the side portions ot'the material are caused to extend free of the undercut sides of the former and substantially parallel to the plane of the former, and conforming: the side portions ofthe so placed material to the former by 'pressure applied substantially axially of the former' and simultaneously throughout a circuinference of the material.

2. ln the building of a tire casing, stretchingV upon. an annular former with undercut sides an endless band of tire building materia] ot' an initial circumference substantially that of the base of the former, whereby the side portions of the material are caused to extend free of the' undercut of the former and substantially parallel to the plane ot' the former, and conformingr the side portions of the so placed material to the former by pressure applied simultaneously throughout a circumference of the material.

El. .ln the building;v of a tire casing, forming an endless band of rubberized tire building.: material of substantially the base diameter of the tire, stretching the band over an annular tire building former having undercut sides, whereby the band will contract upon the former with its side portions free from the undercut sides ofthe former and substantially parallel to its plane, whereby they may be conformed to the sides of the former solelyY by pressure-exerted in an axial.

direction1 and conforming the portions of the so placed material to the lornier solely by pressure applied substantially axially ot the former.

4:. ln the building ot a tire casing7 placing' upon an annular former with 'undercut sides a layer of tire building material in such a manner as to leave the side portions ot 'the material tree vfrom but adjacent. the undercut sides oit the former. and then applying bead fillers to the sides of the material, the application of the bead fillers serving bolli to at tach the fillers to the material and to more the material into contact with the sides el the former. i

5. ln the building of a tire casing, formf ing a. partial tire carcass including bead tillers, the partial carcass being horse-shoe shaped in cross section so as to present undercut sides, stretchingr upon the partial carH cass an endless band ot tire building niaterial ot an initial circumference substantially that ot' the base oit the former whereby the side portions ot thematerial are lett tree from but adjacent to the undercut sides of 'the partial carcass and to the bead illers.. and in position to be shaped to the sides ot the partial carcass solely by pressure exerted in an' axial direction, and conforming; said side portions lo the carcass consecutively above, around, and under the bead lillar" in successive increments solely by successively applied circulnterentially siniultaiieons pres sure.

(i. A method of applying the coveringl cli ments of a tire casing to a carcass structure irovded with beads coninisinv termine l a rs .e

' the tread`l sidewalls and chating strips into af unitary band partially f 'foutorruing the masse/i the tread to be in contact therewith andthe sidewalls and chai-ing: strips to extend substantially parallel to the plane of the carcass structure, and completing the conformation band to the carcass structure so as to cause 40 oil the band to the carcass structure by firstf pressing the sidewalls against said structure ol the sidevvffills and chaling strips being aref complislied in ,sucer sive annular increllrents by successively a )plied cireuln'ferentially:si` multaneous pressures. i

7. The method o' buildingf tire `carcasses on annular cores eouu'irisingJ providing the'l carcass forming' material as a plurality'ot endless bands` `partially conforming" one of said bands lo a core by stretching'so'as tov -anse its` central portion to conform tothe core and its side portions to extend substanf i Atially parallel to the plane el' the core, completingf the conformation et said band'by pressing enea side portion against the 'core by circuinterentially simultaneous pressure, applying bead fillers to the partial 'carcass structure thus termed, partially conforming another ol said bands to the partial carcass s structure by stretching;l so as to cause its central portion to contorni to the partial carcass, 7

re and iis side portions to extend sub# ally rmrallel to the plane' of thej core, and rmnple'ing the conformation 0'1";v said secc-mi band to the partial careassstrnoture .first above., than around, and finally under-the bead lil in successive annular increments applied oircuniferentially siessures.

rnoiaas Minster,

nuiltaneous p1 

